Monthly Archives: July 2013

So, you find solace in the arms of the hills? Or you simply need a get away to a better temperature?

Here with whatever reason you might have, for a trip to the hills in India. We have come up with four Hills stations from Different parts of India for your perusal.

EASTERN INDIA – Shillong is the Best!

Shillong, also called the “Scotland of the East”, the town is surrounded by rolling hills. Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya is just 55 km from Mawsynram, the world’s wettest place.

Shillong boasts of no rail connection or a proper air connection, though it is well connected by roads with all major northeastern states. Private bus operators as well as state transport buses from other states ply to and from Shillong daily. Taxi service is also available to major destinations like Guwahati and Dimapur.

Places to look out for:

Falls, till you are overtly satisfied with water-

Elephant Falls: The mountain stream descends through two successive falls set in fern covered rocks.

Elephant Falls

Spread Eagle Falls

Sweet Falls: It is the most beautiful of all the waterfalls in Shillong.

Crinoline Falls

Panoramic View

Lady Hydari Park: The Park stretches over a kilometer and has an adjacent mini zoo.

Shillong Golf Course: Shillong has one of the largest golf courses (the worlds wettest) in Asia. It enjoys the rare distinction of being one of the few natural golf courses in Asia.

Shillong Peak: A picnic spot offers a panoramic view of the scenic countryside and is the highest point in the state.

Panoramic View of Shillong

– Capt. Williamson Sangma State Museum: For those interested in ethnic tribal culture and tradition this government museum offers insights to the lifestyle of the people.

SOUTHERN INDIA – Ooty is numero uno

It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills, also called Udhagamandalam (sometimes Ootacamund). The town is well connected via rail and road, and it natural beauty attracts tourists.

There are a number of places one can look out for:

Government Rose Garden-The Government rose garden is the largest rose garden in India.

Ooty Botanical Gardens- The Botanical Garden is lush, green, and well-maintained. A flower show along with an exhibition of rare plant species is held every May. The Garden has a number of species, both exotic and indigenous,of plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, herbal and bonsai plants.

Ooty Botanical Gardens

Ooty Lake- The Boat house established alongside the lake, which offers boating facilities to tourists, is a major tourist attraction in Ooty

Wax World- A wax museum that houses life-size look-alike wax statues of personalities of Indian history, culture and heritage housed in a 142-year-old bungalow.

Toda huts- There are a few Toda huts on the hills above Botanical Garden, where Todas still dwell. There are other Toda settlements in the area, notably Kandal Mund near Old Ooty.

Toda Huts

The Western India- Mahabaleshwar beats all

Mahabaleshwar strikes as a popular holiday and honeymoon spot, plus an important pilgrimage site for Hindus, as it adorns the Mahabaleshwar Temple. There are more than 14 points in Mahabaleshwar, which offers scenic beauty to the visitors.

Few of them are:

Kate’s point is located to the east of Mahabaleshwar and is famous for its view of two reservoirs, Balakwadi and Dhom.

Needle Hole Point: One can see a natural rock formation with a hole in between, thus giving the name Needle-hole.

Wilson Point is the highest point in Mahabaleshwar at 1439 m, Wilson point is the only location in Mahabaleshwar where both sunrise and sunset can be seen.

3 Monkey Point: Named because of the natural sculpture of the stones which looks like 3 monkeys of Gandhiji.

And here comes the region which hosts a number of hill stations- the North. Handling many competitors and yet emerging as an unprecedented winner is Kashmir.

NORTHERN INDIA- Kashmir wins the Race!

In the seventeenth century, the Mughal emperor Jahangir set his eyes on the valley of Kashmir. He said that if paradise is anywhere on the earth, it is here. So check it out before the real heaven knocks the door.

By plane Mostly all flights operate to Jammu, Srinagar and Leh.

By train The last stop on the railway line north is Udhampur, where you can catch onward buses or higher taxi.

However it’s better to catch a taxi from Jammu as these are more readily available.

By bus: There are two ways to get in by land – via Jammu and up to Srinagar or via Manali in Himachal Pradesh and up to Leh.

Tourist attractions

Gulmarg: Gulmarg is surrounded by dense forest. This place is famous for its golf hikes and highland golf course.

Sonamarg: Also called the Meadow of the gold. This valley shows more amazing facet in Kashmir. It has Snow Mountains as its backdrop against the sky.

Bahu Fort: This fort is facing the Tawi River and houses a temple of goddess kali in the fort.

Mubarak Mandi Palace was built with the touch of three different styles, Rajasthani, Mughal and Gothic. Most famous part of this Palace is the Sheesh Mahal segment

Peer Baba: This is one of the holy places for Muslim saints. It is one of the best trekking destinations around the world. In Winter, Zanskar river freezes up, and get converted into an amazing adventures trek called Chadar-The Frozen River Trek.

And when one visits these, the only lines that might cross the mind is : “There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, where you can sway”

Indian Railways introduced its first air-conditioned double deck train in 2011 on the Howrah – Dhanbad Double Decker Express between Howrah station in West Bengal and Dhanbad Junction in Jharkand. Later on, many new trains were introduced on various other routes.

The Latest updated list of Double Deck Trains in India is as follows:-

Double Decker Trains Route in India- (Updated 26-07-13)

Cynosure of all eyes, novel experience for some-‎Double Decker‬ Trains are plying on various Routes of ‪Indian Railways. Each New Train boasts of many new features such as Passenger capacity of 128 each rake, LED destination boards, Provision of Snack table and Bottle holder for each passenger.

India, on an average, welcomes 6.58 million foreign tourists and this number is growing at a very rapid pace. India has a vast network of Railways, interconnecting whole country. For a Foreign tourist or NRI who wants to see the real India, We highly recommend to use vast railway network of Indian Railways.

IRCTC web portal comes in handy to avoid long queues at the railway stations or to avoid paying the brokers and has facility to book advance ticket 360 days before the journey.

2012 on-wards, there has been a major change in the procedure of booking tickets on IRCTC. Here is some steps which can help foreign tourists and NRIs to get themselves registered with IRCTC and can book the train tickets without hassle.

2. Fill in the mandatory details along with E-mail id and mobile number (This could be a random number as prefix of India’s ISD code makes it impossible to update the native country cell number)

3. Once you have filled all the necessary details, you will get an acknowledgement message that User ID, password and activation Link has been sent to your Registered E-mail ID and the mobile verification code has been forwarded to your Registered mobile number.

4. After getting the User Id on your Registered E-mail id, you can forward the request for sending the mobile verification code on your E-mail by writing to the customer care.

5. Once you get the mobile verification code on your Registered E-mail id (may take few days), you can verify the code.

6. You are now registered on IRCTC and can use this for booking tickets.

We hope this blog will clear a lot of ambiquity related to How to Register with IRCTC for train bookings by Foreign tourists and NRIs.

Like this:

The concept of “Try before you buy” doesn’t apply to the Travel sector as everything takes place for the first time. If you are going to an unfamiliar place, you will definitely be skeptical regarding the services offered at the hotel where you will be staying during the trip. Your entire holiday can go in vain if the services do not match up to the expenses involved….

The team behind Triportrap.com

Read more about us this blog piece by clicking the link. Thanks Startoholics.in for featuring us!

We got 23 entries for this travelogue contest and many of them had written any memoir or blog for the very first time. We got 3 finalists and after intense voting on various social media mediums, Deepak Agarwal emerged as the winner.

We interviewed three of the finalists and get to know more about them. Here are few excerpts of that interview:-

TOT : Introduced yourselves to us along with the things you do (other than blogging)?

Deepak Agarwal:-Hi, I am based out at Bangalore and love travelling, watching cricket, playing squash (Ranked 7 in Bangalore seeding), movies, music,having new experiences and writing!

Riya Gupta:-I am basically from Jammu but now living in Delhi. Reading and dancing is my passion.

Jatin Bavishi :- I am living in Delhi and Defining my hobbies in clear-cut categories will just be an unfair to everything I do. Whatever I do, becomes my hobby. However, my biggest obsession is photography. I do photography anywhere and everywhere; and it may not be from my DSLR. For me, photography is a powerful art, and as long as I could express myself by virtue of a frame, it is commendable. I have traveled to a lot of places in the past one year, all with the intention of photography.

TOT : How was the experience of writing for “India: Been There, Seen that”?

Deepak Agarwal:- It was a long engaging contest, I love writing and I love travelling. The project IBTST gave me an opportunity to express both my forte And I cannot be happier that I won the contest!

Riya Gupta:- Of course, it is great when you get to read the personal experiences of people travelling through some of the most beautiful destinations of the country. I liked the idea of IBTST but my only complaint was that the contest results were way too delayed.

Jatin Bavishi:-IBTST is a very good platform. I had never earlier written for a blog. I read the description of the blog, and I really liked it. Somehow I felt travel writing is important. Travelling is just the story before interval. It is writing about your experience that makes the story complete. I would like to thank and congratulate Triportrap.com for taking such a good initiative for people like me.

TOT: Any place in India where you people yearn to go?

Deepak Agarwal:- I have not explored north east completely, there are certain places in Shillong and Assam that I would want to explore and possibly gain more from the experience.

Riya Gupta:-Goa. I have heard so much about the place from friends and other people but never got a chance to visit it. The beaches and churches are yet to be explored and captured down in my camera as well as my memories.

Jatin Bavishi :- Place in India I would yearn to go is Munnar, Kerala.

TOT : Last question, Any journey which turned out TRAP for you rather than being a TRIP?

Deepak Agarwal:- Journey can never be a trap; journey is what you want it to be. A hotel wrong booked? Then, probably that’s the least of your trouble if you think that its a big deal. I have had bad experiences but never a one where I could not turn it around in my favor. I had once taken an navy ship from Kerala to Lakshadweep and then I realized how much sick sea makes me! However, I am spreading the news of the website! Already doing my bit and will continue doing so. All the best!

Riya Gupta:-Not yet and I wish it doesn’t ever and I recommend the website as I don’t want anyone’s trip to become a trap rather than an experience of a lifetime.

Jatin Bavishi :- No, as of now, no journey has turned out trap. But, it can happen anytime! I would love to promote triportrap.com. I have a strong base of people, and I would surely recommend this site if they ever wish to write their travel experience.

TriporTrap.com thanks all the participants and is looking forward for people to Apply for IBTST- Part II which has started from July 1 – Aug 15, 2013.

The Mahabodhi Temple ( Maha : Great, Bodhi : Awakening), is a Buddhist temple at Bodh Gaya, 96 km from capital city Patna. The shrine estimated to be built between 5th and 6th century AD, is holiest pilgrimage for Buddhists from world over. West side of this temple has holy Bodhi tree. Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under this Bodhi Tree here in 531 B.C.

On 7 July, 2013, in a terror attack, 9 low intensity bombs exploded in this UNESCO World Heritage Site, one near Buddha statue and near Maha bodhi tree.

We condemn the act of attacking the international symbol of peace, unity and urge all sections of the society to follow the teachings of Lord Buddha by being tolerant to each other in the matter of religious faith and work towards building one humanistic society and here, at, TriporTrap.com, we are very much proud of India’s vast heritage and culture hence we updated this blog to express our grief to the loss of life and damage to the shrine.